Penn State Lehigh Valley Day!

The day after we got home from vacation, we put on our blue and white to take part in an awesome community event and fundraiser for the Penn State Dance Marathon THON (which also happened to be organized by Aunt Brynn in her new marketing job at Hotel Bethlehem).

 This Nittany Lion is now a permanent fixture on the bench outside of the hotel's new Creamery Ice Cream shop! It's fun to see him whenever we drive or walk by.

 The kids got glitter tattoos...

Avery got a caricature done (Gray refused - typical!)

 And there were lots of other fun things to see and do as we walked along Main Street!

 Then we ended back at the hotel to enjoy a scoop of the best ice cream ever!

Always bittersweet mint for Grayson..

 and strawberry for Avery!

 We are so excited (and a little scared!) that we can have Creamery ice cream whenever we want! 

We love living in a city that loves Happy Valley as much as we do!

OC, MD

It seems like forever ago, but 2 days after Grayson's birthday we headed down to Ocean City, MD for our family vacation. We had a great time as usual and we always seem to luck out with the weather.  Even though each day started out cloudy, it usually gave way to sunshine (and it wasn't too hot either!)

As usual, the kids loved the beach! We spent a lot of time in the sand and at the water's edge. 

 We had lots of fun going out to dinner...

And just being silly...

Shopping...

And hanging out...

We even tried a few new activities this year.

Rode the OC Rocket...

Watched a movie on the beach after sunset..

And got an Old Time Photo taken!

It's always sad to see vacation to come to an end...especially because we knew that in two days it was time for Avery to start kindergarten! But clearly, by the end of the week, we were all pooped! This is Grayson, the boy who never sleeps, passed out at the dinner table while out to eat on our last night!

Will miss these beautiful sunsets on the bay

 and the view from "our" condo!

 We are so lucky to have this time together to look forward to every year! 

Grayson's 3rd Birthday (Part 2)

Mommy had to work on Grayson's actual birthday, so we celebrated a day early!  Mommy racked her brain trying to come up grandiose ideas of what to do for the day with her big boy. Grayson is not quite as agreeable as Avery is. But here is what we both agreed on:

Eating a donut at Wegman's

Sitting at the airport, patiently waiting for a plane to go by. After 45 minutes, we finally saw ONE tiny plane take off!

He loved sitting in the front seat and putting his head out the sunroof.

Then, we went to the fish hatchery to feed some fish.

We had plans for movies and the park, but the battle through a long lunch out made me change my mind. This boy cannot be contained to a seat for any amount of time...even when the bribe of post-meal ice cream  is in the cards. We went home instead, popped in a movie and waited for Daddy to come home from work to finish celebrating.

He opened his gifts from us...which included a new bike helmet, decals for his bedroom, an alarm clock, journal, socks, coloring books and bubbles. But the most exciting gift of all....a NERF GUN!!

Daddy had been waiting for this day for SOOO long. 

Here he is teaching Grayson the wonders of the Nerf!

And then lots of shooting ensued!

Cake followed (lame leftovers from the airplane cake that Mommy refrosted to look like a new cake!)

Bike riding (to test out the new helmet)

And bubbles (the cheapest gift and probably the most loved!)

This boy challenges us in so many ways, yet is rewarding in so many other ways! He is sweet, stubborn, snuggly, mischievous, adorable, manipulative, and smart all wrapped up into one lovable little boy.  Life has definitely not been the same since August 14, 2011 when he entered this world and we love him dearly!

Flash back through the last 3 years...

Newborn...                                                                              

1 year old...

 2 years old...

3 years old...

Click here if you are patient enough to watch Grayson's 20 Question Interview

Grayson's 3rd Birthday (Part 1)

As soon as Avery's birthday excitement is over, we have to gear up for Grayson's birthday, which is just over a month later. He asked for a "plane" party this year.  We enjoyed great weather for his outdoor party at our house with lots of food, drinks, and fun!

I severely underestimated how LONG this airplane cake would take to make...hours of my life that I will never get back. I could not have done it without Adam's help!

Seriously, I don't know how these bloggers on Pinterest kept the wings from collapsing. We had to improvise and add some clear shot glasses to provide support. 

 The propellers were much easier!

Overall, I think Grayson was pleased with the final result!

Great Uncle Bobby couldn't bear to see Gray dress up in dresses anymore, so he got him some cool "boy"dress up clothes. Didn't stop Avery from putting them on though!

 Thanks to Madi, we now have this bouncy house in our basement!

No one ever wants the party to end! We let the kids stay up late to catch fireflies. 

Not sure what was so terrifying for Gray in this pic!